Crème Caramel with Cake

Crème caramel, flan, custard, you can call it as you want it, it is this delicious cold jelly like sweet that is full of sweetness and milk. Delicious! My son loves it, and when he wants one he says 'I want patene' since he doesnt know how to spell it, LOL!

Now take a second and imagine having 2 delicious things in 1! Let's say, crème caramel and chocolate cake.. Wait! what?! yep, you can have them both in 1 plate... I will show you how..

Crème Caramel with Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:
1 Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake Mix (I used the Devil's Food Cake Mix)

For the crème caramel:
1 can of condensed milk
1 can of milk (put 1 measurement of milk using the same can as the condensed milk)
4 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla


Method

Heat oven at 200 celsius.

Prepare two bowls next to each other. In each bowl pour the ingredients needed for each. Beat the cake with the cake mixer, and the crème caramel with a blender - I used for this the Braun hand mixer which easier.

Get a Round cake form with whole in the middle topped with caramer. Pour on it around 1.5 cups of sugar and put it on heat to melt. Once melted pour around 1/4 water and mix - then spread the mix all around the form, even use a spoon to pass the sugar mix in the middle of the pan. After spreading it all around, pour the cake mixture slowly, and then even slower, you can use creme caramel mixture on it. You might think that 'OMG the creme caramel mixture is mixing with the cake mixture' but dont worry, dont think about it, its worthless! coz nothing has happened!

Note: you have to check how much cake mix you need to pour in the cake form - I didnt use all because my form wasnt going to fit in it.

Cover the form firmly with foil paper, and bake it at 200 degrees celsius on bain-marie.

Banana bread filled with Nutella

This is a twist on a previous recipe I posted here which is the Banana Bread recipe filled with Nutella chocolate!

Just do the same recipe, spread half of the mix and spread nutella, of course, depends on how much you want nutella in it, then swirl it in the mix, then pour the rest on it. I sprinkled the cake with almonds and turned out delicious!

Here are few pics of how it turned out

Atayef (Mini pancake with cream)

These small pancake are very famous in Lebanon. Specially in Ramadan. They are a unique type of pancake that is only cooked on one side! and it is so much fun to eat it too! It might sound difficult but believe me it is not!!

For Pancake

Ingredients

• 1 cup of AP flour
• 1 cup fine semolina
• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 tsp of dry yeast
• 1 tbsp of dry milk powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tbsp of sugar

Method:

1. Proof the yeast by combining it with 1/4 cup of warm water, a teaspoon of sugar; place in a warm place and let it foam.

2. In a small bowl, sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda; mix with a wire whisk.

3. Pour one cup of warm water into a bowl; add the powdered milk and stir to combine well.

4. Mix with the wire whisk; add the flour mixture and stir; the consistency should be a little thicker than a crêpe batter. If the batter is too thick, add a little water.

5. Heat a crêpe or pancake nonstick skillet till very hot; grease it with a half teaspoon of oil or spray it; place the equivalent of 1/4 cup of batter in the skillet to form a circle. Let it cook for a few minutes on one side; when it has formed little bubbles and it looks dry, take it out onto a plate. Do not flip it.

6. As soon as all the atayefs are cooked, fill them with some ashta (cream), a bit of cherry coulis, pinching on one end to form a spoon shape and place in a serving platter; serve right away or within one hour.

7. I sprinkled them with ground pistachio and cherry on the middle a piece of maraschino cherries.

For the filling (Ashta or Cream)

• 3 cups of milk powder
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tbsp of corn starch
• 1 tbsp of rose water

Method:
Mix all in a pan and bring to boil. Wait till it thickens, then turn off and move to a serving dish to be used when filling the pancakes.

For the syrup:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1tsp of rose water
  

METHOD:

For the syrup:

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil and add the lemon juice; boil the syrup for 8 minutes or until it gets a bit syrupy (test it on the back of a spoon and see if running your finger will leave a mark). Add the flavorings and simmer a few seconds more then turn off the heat and let the syrup cool. This can be done several weeks ahead and the syrup kept in a jar tightly closed in the fridge.

ENJOY!

Fish with Coconut Sauce

This recipe is from a site that I lovee! it has so many Ecuadorian recipes! Just like Colombian/Latin ones.. I have tried few and will post it later.. As for this recipe, its sooo unique! I never cooked fish with coconut milk so I was hesitant, but I trust Laylita and I was sure it was going to be a success..! It didn't take time at all and not many ingredients were involved. I added shrimps to it just because I love it!


Recipe from www.laylita.com

Ingredients:

1kg lbs fresh fish fillet, cut in medium size chunks
¼ cup lime juice, from about 2 limes
Juice from 2 oranges
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 tbs canola oil
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 yellow bell peppers, diced
4 , peeled and chopped
1 can of coconut milk
3 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Side dishes – rice and fried ripe plantains

Method

1. Mix the lime juice, orange juice, crushed garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander powder and salt in a small bowl.
2. Marinate the fish chunks for 1 – 2 hours.
3. Heat the oil to prepare a refrito or base for the sauce, add the diced onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and salt, cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
4. Add the coconut milk to the refrito, mix it in well and cook for about 10 minutes, if you prefer a thicker sauce you can thicken the sauce by adding ½ tsp of corn starch.
5. Add the fish fillets, cover partially and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice and fried ripe plantains (if you like to!).

ENJOY!!

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons grated lemon rind (about 2 lemons)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• Cooking spray or butter for the cake form
  
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk (if you dont have substitute it with 1c of milk or low fat milk with 1tbsp of either lemon juice of white vinegar - let it sit for 5min)
  

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

To prepare cake, combine rind and 3 tablespoons juice in a small bowl. Set aside.

Coat a pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. or butter it and sprinkle the sugar on it.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Place butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, and rind mixture beating until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture and 1 cup buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beating at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 180 for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes.

ENJOY!

Mozzarella and Broccoli Salad

Hey everyone! Apologies for my lack of posts! I was on vacation for a month and now I am back home!

This recipe was done by my sister. Its super easy and delicious!

Mozzarella and Broccoli Salad


Ingredients
Iceberg Lettuce - washed/drained and cut
Broccoli - Steamed/Boiled
Can of Baby Corn
Canned Red Beans - washed
Can of Palm Hearts - washed and sliced
Fresh Mozarella

Dressing
Olive oil Balsamic Vinegar Salt and pepper

Method
In the serving plate, pour a layer of lettuce; In a separate bowl mix the corn, beans and sliced palm hearts along with the broccoli. Pour half the dressing on them and mix. Pour the mixed veggies on the lettuce spreading them along it. Put on top of them the mozzarella balls, if you want you can slice them or make them square as you like.. Then spread other half of the sauce on top of everything.

ENJOY!

Shrimp, Avocado and Mango Salad

This salad was an invention of mine to try and copycat the salad that is served at Le Pain Quotidien which is a French franchising restaurant/bakery

The salad is so colorful, tasty and its ingredients are to unique!! I love anything with fruit - mango, pineapple, any fruit!

An original picture of the actual salad comes like this:



So lets get into business and try to make one that tastes the same! of course, we are making it beautiful too!

Shrimp, Avocado and Mango Salad
(serves 2 persons)

Ingredients

12 cooked big shrimps (if you like to add more, please do, it depends on the person)
1 ripe avocado
1 mango
3 tomatoes
Rocket leaves (as desired)
Olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 lime

Method

First, cut the avocado in half, peel it, remove the pit, and slice it. Reserve in a plate.



Next, peel mango and slice it as desired, depends on how thick you would like to have it.


Now, cut the tomatoes small cube sized pieces and reserve.


In a separate bowl, mix the washed and drained rocket with the salt, olive oil, and lime. Add to it the cooked shrimps, and mix well so that the shrimps are coated in the sauce.



Now the fun part, put all ingredients in your plate. I did this way:


ENJOY!

Blueberry Muffins

Every time we are at Starbucks, we want to have one of these. I never made muffins but have made cupcakes, I was like what the heck, what would be the difference? So I tried this recipe and oh my GOD! I loved it specially because of the topping which is made from lemon and sugar so it gave this zesty taste to it on top of the sweet taste of the blueberry itself.. The recipe says you can use either frozen or fresh blueberries, I just did not bother and got fresh because getting frozen would get a mess since I have tried before baking with frozen blueberries, but if you do not have fresh it is ok, get frozen, do not defrost them, just right there take them out of the freezer and soak them in AP flour and whisk around slowly. That's it! do not worry!!

My son loved it and I got rave reviews!! I tell you, do them as soon as you can!

Ingredients

Lemon-Sugar Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
zest from one lemon

Muffins:
2 cups frozen blueberries (or 2 cups fresh)
1 1/8 cups plus 1 teaspoon of sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1 cup buttermilk (OR 1 cup of milk mixed in 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice letting it rest for 2min)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

For the topping, stir together sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

For the muffins, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 190C. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Rinse one cup frozen berries under cold water and spread on a double layer of paper towels to dry well. Bring remaining one cup berries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon several times and stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Toss the berries that have dried on the paper towels in with the flour mixture. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. The batter will be lumpy with a few dry spots of flour – don’t overmix. This is the key to moist and tender muffins.

Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill the muffin cups until they are about 3/4 full. Spoon a teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into the center of each mound of batter. Using a skewer (or a chopstick), gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.

Bake until the top of the muffins are golden and just firm, 17-18 minutes. Cool muffins in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!